‘Alive… without a body… fed by an unspeakable horror from hell!’
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is a 1962 released sci-fi horror film about a doctor experimenting to keep his girlfriend’s head alive after she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body.
The movie was directed by Joseph Green from a screenplay co-written with producer Rex Carlton (Unearthly Stranger; The Devil’s Hand; Nightmare in Wax; Blood of Dracula’s Castle). Also released as The Head That Wouldn’t Die
The movie stars Herb Evers (Barracuda; Basket Case 2), Virginia Leith (Great Ghost Tales; One Step Beyond) and Leslie Daniel [Anthony La Penna] (later a dubbing actor on Italian trash movies such as Strip Nude for Your Killer; Eaten Alive! and Cannibal Ferox).
In 2020, the movie was pointlessly remade by producer and director Derek Carl.
Release:
The film’s working title was The Black Door and it was shot in 1959 but remained unreleased until May 3, 1962, when it was picked up for distribution by American International Pictures (AIP). It eventually lapsed into the public domain and was released many times on VHS and then on DVD in various states of quality but usually poor. Blu-ray release details are below.
Plot:
Doctor Bill Cortner (Jason Evers) is a successful scientist with a beautiful fiancée named Jan Compton (Virginia Leith). After a horrible car accident decapitates Jan, Doctor Cortner collects her severed head and rushes it to his laboratory, where he revives it and manages to keep it alive in a liquid-filled tray.
Cortner now decides to commit murder to obtain an attractive new body to attach to his fiancée’s head. As he hunts for a suitable female specimen, Jan begins to hatch some murderous plans of her own. Filled with hatred for Cortner because he won’t let her die, she communicates telepathically with a hideous mutant in the laboratory cell, telling it to kill the scientist…
Review:
This gleefully lurid sci-fi horror has built a deserved cult reputation over the years. The camp scenes of Virginia Leith’s supposedly severed head arguing with a deformed lab assistant, or grimacing wildly while using her mind to control a dreaded thing-in-the-closet are priceless examples of silly cinema.
What’s more, the chain-smoking mad doctor’s search for the perfect female specimen provides the obvious excuse for cheesy sleazy scenes in which he checks out buxom babes via beauty pageants, gyrating go-go dancers, a high-heeled catfight and a model he hires to pose for ‘glamour’ shots. Naturally, the latter has a scarred face, making her the prime choice for the randy would-be Doc Frankenstein.
The movie looks more recent than its 1959 vintage, due to writer and first-time director Joseph Green’s use of location shooting, point-of-view shots and hand-held camerawork, which gives it an urgency lacking in many of the studio-bound genre pics of the period. It also features some surprisingly graphic black-and-white splatter. For some reason, all the original promo artwork features a brain with a large beady eye floating in a tank of liquid!
Ade Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
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Choice dialogue:
“No, the alcoholic has his bottle. The dope addict has his needle. I had my research. I used to be a surgeon. It used to be my life!”
“The line between scientific genius and obsessive fanaticism is a thin one.”
Buy on DVD from Amazon.com
Trailer:
Free to watch online on YouTube [1080p HD]:
Free to watch online in colour on YouTube [1080p HD]:
In 2002, an uncut, 35mm print was used for the Special Edition DVD release by Synapse Films. Running 85 minutes, this version features more of the stripper catfight, as well as shocking (for the time) splatter. Some stills – featured as extras on the DVD – feature topless nudity intended for a racier European version which unfortunately never got released. Extras include the amusing theatrical trailer and a gallery of ten behind-the-scenes stills that opens with a shot of a topless actress being molested by the monster.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
On 22 December 2015, the film was released on Blu-ray by Scream Factory. This version of The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is uncut and includes parts of the brain surgery scene that were missing from previous releases. Extras are:
High Definition (1080p) Transfer from the negative restored to its uncut version
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episode – The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (Standard Definition)
Audio Commentary by Film Historian and author Steve Haberman and Writer Tony Sasso
Alternate nude scene from The International Cut
Theatrical trailer
Still gallery
Cast and characters:
Jason Evers … Doctor Bill Cortner (as Herb Evers); Virginia Leith … Jan Compton/Jan in the Pan; Anthony La Penna … Kurt (as Leslie Daniel); Adele Lamont … Doris Powell; Bonnie Sharie … Blonde Stripper; Paula Morris … Brunette Stripper; Marilyn Hanold … Peggy Howard (as Marlyn Hanold); Bruce Brighton … Doctor Cortner; Arny Freeman … Photographer; Fred Martin … Medical Assistant; Lola Mason … Donna Williams; Doris Brent … Nurse; Bruce Kerr … Beauty Contest M.C.; Audrey Devereau … Jeannie Reynolds; Eddie Carmel … Monster
Filming locations:
Tarrytown, New York
Technical specs:
1 hour 22 minutes (US version)
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1
Audio: Mono
